This invention relates to a portable container or bin, and more particularly, to a basket which may be stacked upon another basket without obstructing the lading-carrying space of the basket and which may be partially nested or telescoped within another basket to occupy the other basket's lading-carrying space.
There are many types of stackable and nestable baskets available for use with a large variety of products. A common characteristic of these baskets are that they are open-ended or without a top to permit easy accessability. Generally, these baskets are made of sheet material, wire or plastic, in order to provide lightness and visual control of the contents. Engineering and design criteria generally necessitate that the baskets occupy the least possible storage space during nesting, for purpose of storage or shipping, and maximize the lading-carrying space during stacking.
In an effort to achieve nesting, prior art containers have heretofore been designed with tapered sidewalls or end walls, resulting in diminished lading-carrying capacity during stacking. It has therefore been found that baskets having a plurality of perpendicular upright walls generally optimize lading-carrying space and capacity during stacking. However, such basket construction makes nesting difficult.
Stacking baskets are old as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,936,164, 2,554,232 and 2,662,662. Some stackable baskets have been designed with inwardly or upwardly projecting shoulders for engaging or supporting the bottom frame of another basket.
Others have heretofore sought to provide baskets that selectively nest as well as stack upon each other. Such prior constructions generally have used movable elements or geometrical features that permit of alternate use, but stability in such instances normally relies upon gravity of interference between basket wall members. For example see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,252,964, 2,931,535, and 3,409,163.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,039,643, 3,481,507, and 3,622,031 disclose utility in rotating the basket either 90.degree. or 180.degree. about a vertical axis to effect stacking rather than nesting.